SnapDragon
by RirinKamachi
Summary: Ririn Kamachi, a straight A student. Never gets in trouble, always on time and never misses an assignment... until she meets Haruhi, a 'fiery' spirited girl that causes so much trouble... because she wants Ririn to embrace her spirit powers.
1. Chapter 1

My name is Ririn Kamachi

**Chapter 1**

My name is Ririn Kamachi. I am 15 years old and I have a perfect record. I haven't missed a single day of school in 9 years, haven't missed a single assignment, ever, and I never ever get in trouble. At least that's how it's been before I met her. It's because of her that I'm in detention with these people.

"So, Ririn, did you think about what I said?" asked the reason I'm here; Haruhi Inoue.

"Yes, and I think you're an absolute nutcase. And you're not my friend, so call me Kamachi-san."

She frowned. "Search your feelings, Rin-chan, you know it to be true."

"Miss Inoue, does 'this is detention, so don't speak' mean anything to you?" That's Kanei-sensei. He has a really dull, monotone voice, kind of like Ben Stein from America.

"Sorry, dude-sensei." She said before turning around and actually being silent for once. She's weird I thought to myself. I started thinking back to lunchtime Wednesday, when _it_ happened.

(Begin flashback)

It was the second day of high school. Math class had just ended and the bell rang for lunch. It was a nice spring day and I couldn't wait to eat lunch on the roof. I found this nice little spot to eat at by the edge protected by a large fence on my left with a vent on the right. This is a place where nobody could see me.

I was about to dig into my Teriyaki Chow Mein when I heard a faint scream. I looked over to see a little girl being chased by a… pile of leaves shaped like a man. I was about to get up to move when I saw a girl with red hair run out, yelling something, and the leaf-man suddenly caught fire.

Just then, another girl came out and hugged the small victim who disappeared in a puff of pink smoke. After inspecting the pile of leaves, they pulled out what looked like a slip of paper and returned to wherever they were, and I continued eating. I kept thinking to myself that I was hallucinating because I haven't eaten since the day before yesterday.

I got up to go to my next class as soon as the bell rang. I turned the corner and ran into someone. After falling flat on my butt, I looked up to see this huge gorilla of a guy.

"Watch it, Chic." I apologized as I started gathering my things. I finally stood up just in time for him to knock the books out of my hands.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"I don't know. I'm just really bored. How about a little skin, girlie?" He said as he pushed me against the wall. He had both of my wrists in the tight grip of one of his huge hands. With his free hand, he untucked my shirt and started feeling upward. I kneed him between the legs and he let go, yelling.

I turned around to leave when I tripped. I didn't think there was anything to trip on. I turned around to see another guy, not as burley as the other one, but almost as tall.

"Nobody defies Kisame." He said as he reached for me. I closed my eyes out of fear.

A few seconds had passed, but I didn't feel anybody touch me, but I did hear a zapping sound. I opened my eyes to see some kind of transparent blue shield in front of me.

"What the hell?" He said, cradling his bleeding hand.

_What the hell? _ I thought to myself. The bigger guy, Kisame, got up and charged at me. Just then, all sound left my ears and everything looked like it was in slow motion. Quietly, I heard a faint whisper _'First Strike, Snap Dragon'_.

Suddenly, the marble in my ball and claw necklace started glowing and floating. Purple swirls started flowing all around me and what looked like a purple dragonhead formed and lunged at them, knocking both guys down, rendering them unconscious.

My necklace fell to its normal condition. The swirls and the shield disappeared and I felt really dizzy. I got up after feeling like I could stand, gathered my things, and ran to my next class. I really didn't feel like reporting this, because nobody would believe me.

All during the class, I couldn't pay attention. Luckily, it was art where nobody pays attention anyway. I kept thinking about what happened. _Where did all that come from? What does First Strike, Snap Dragon mean? Isn't a Snapdragon a kind of flower? Wait, flower... _

I remembered what happened before I started eating, with those girls and the leaf guy and the little disappearing girl. Maybe I should talk to them. But, what would I say? I decided against approaching them because I didn't think that actually happened. Plus, I didn't get a good look at them.

I was in mid-thought when this girl with bright red hair and reddish-brown eyes came right up in my face. "Hi, I'm Haruhi Inoue. Want to be friends?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Der… who're you?"

"Haruhi Inoue. I think we'll get along famously, since we share a common bond!" I gave her a strange look. Then, she went serious and the smile left her face. "Listen, we saw what happened on the roof. That was amazing, and I really think you should join us."

I scooted my desk away from her. "Join who? Wait a sec…." I suddenly remembered that one of the girls had hair just like hers. "Are you the girl who set that leaf thing on fire to save that little girl?" I asked.

She raised an eyebrow. "You saw that?" I nodded. "Yeah, Ayame and I saved her. Oh, and she's not a girl. She's a –"

"You know what, I don't care. I'm sure this is just a weird dream and I'll wake up in just a sec." I interrupted, closing my eyes tight, hoping that would wake me up.

Suddenly, I felt a pinch on my arm. "Ouch, what was that for?" She smiled again. "You felt that, therefore, you're awake."

"Miss Inoue and Miss Kamachi. Detention, Friday morning. Be on time or it doubles."

"Why both of us?" I asked.

"You disrupted class and Miss Inoue inflicted physical harm on someone."

Inoue stood up. "But, why morning detention?" She wasn't even going to deny it?

The teacher narrowed her eyes. "Because lunch and after school detentions are filled up." I gave Inoue a dirty look.

She smiled at me. "See you there!"

(End Flashback)

I still don't know why I'm here. All I did was verbally react to her abuse. Nonetheless, I'm stuck in Friday morning detention with six other students besides Inoue and myself. I looked at the clock and saw that there was only 5 minutes left.

"Well class," Sensei said, "since you all showed up on time, and you were good, I'll let you go to class early." At that, I packed my bag and left the room. I made it out the door when I felt an arm wrap around my shoulder. I didn't need to look over to know who it was.

"Well, this is her, Ayame. Promising, huh?"

"I suppose." I turned toward the other voice to see another girl, about my height with shoulder length pink hair and black-rimmed glasses reading a manga.

"That's Ayame Tsukinowa, the other one. She's great."

"Umm, I don't know who you think I am or what you want with me, but I'm not interested." I said, trying to get her to let me go.

Inoue laughed. "That's cute. You think you have a choice."

I stopped walking. "Umm, free will. If I don't want to, I don't have to."

"Actually," Tsukinowa responded, "You do not, in fact, have a choice. We didn't, so what makes you think you can?" I got out of Inoue's grip and ran off to class.

All throughout the day, whenever I had a class with Inoue, she would pester me. There were two instances where we almost got another detention. Luckily, the teachers got sidetracked and forgot all about us.

Finally, the last class of the day, and the only other class, besides advanced geometry and Home Economics, that I don't have with that red haired pest: Gym.

I went to my locker in the changing room and got on my uniform which consists of red shorts with a white tee-shirt with 2 red stripes going down one side and the school's logo on the front. I tied my hair back and headed upstairs.

I entered the gymnasium behind a bunch of girls who kept looking back at me, giggling. Walking over to my line-up spot, I began stretching. We had just started crunches when I heard some girl trying to get my attention.

"Psst. Hey, you! Girl with the purple hair!"

Ignoring her, I finished the crunches.

"Okay class, now, everyone do 5 laps around the gym and head outside." Sensei instructed.

I got up and started running not long before the person who was trying to get my attention caught up to me. She had her jet-black hair in braided pigtails.

"You're a first year, right?"

I nodded.

"Do you have any friends yet?"

I shook my head.

"But you seem to be pretty friendly with Haruhi Inoue."

"She's not my friend." I said between breaths.

"My names Yuki Hoshikumo. What's yours?"

"Ririn Kamachi."

She giggled. "That's a cute name. Oh, and, my friends and I were wondering why your hair is so long."

I thought that was a strange question to ask. "I just never got around to getting it cut."

"I see." She responded.

I saw out of the corner of my eye that she had fallen back to run alongside her friends. _Why would someone come up to me just to ask that?_

After running, some people got a drink of water and everyone else went straight outside. I stepped out the door and was suddenly pulled to the side. I noticed it was the guys from the roof incident, and they were pretty banged up.

"I don't know what happened or how you did it, but I'm going to make sure you never cross me again."

Just then, I felt a third person pull me back and hold my hand. "There you are, babe. What are you doing talking to them?"

I saw him wink at me. That's when I had another flashback, this time to Biology this morning where he and I first met.

(Begin Flashback)

I had gone into my first class of the day and sat down in the second row in the third column furthest from the door. People were filing in and, to my horror, I saw none other than…

"Wow, what a coincidence!" The obnoxious pain in my side exclaimed. "Well, it looks like this seat is empty." Inoue sat down before I could utter one word of protest. She turned around in her seat and started bugging the girl behind her, Ayame.

_Great_ I thought to myself. _First class of the day and it's with __both__ of them. Oh, the joy…_

The bell rang and everyone sat down quietly, even though Sensei hadn't gotten here yet. Then, this guy in front of me with messy-ish brown hair turned around to talk to me.

"Hey, could I borrow a pencil? I left mine at home." I pulled out my pencil tin and got him my green mechanical pencil. I didn't even get a word of thanks. Unfortunately, Haruhi noticed this.

"Hey, she just gave you one of her pencils. The least you could do is thank her, Kaien." At that, I heard a bunch of girls gasp.

"Nobody talks to Master Kenji like that!"

"Who does she think she is?"

"Does she even know who she's talking to?"

Those were just a few phrases I could make out that were uttered by, presumably, his fangirls.

"I know," He began. "I was just waiting for the right time. Anyway, thank you for the pencil. I'll return it at the end of class." He said to me with this cute boyish smile that made my heart skip a beat or two.

"Oh, well, since you left your stuff at home, why don't you keep it? I mean, I have a bunch at home." He nodded and turned around.

"I think he likes you." Inoue whispered.

"Shut up." I replied.

"Ooh, do you like him?" I felt myself blush; I shook my head.

"But, if you do end up liking him, get in line. He has, like, seven fan clubs, two are at neighboring schools and one is by the school's gay boys. He was nominated prom king last year, and he was in 8th grade." I that sounded kind of far-fetched.

He turned around. "You know, I may not have won, but if I did, I'd turn it down."

"Why?" Inoue asked.

"Because, the prom queens were nowhere near as good looking as you." I felt my face turn beet red.

(End Flashback)

"So, what are you doing talking to these hooligans?" He repeated.

"Oh, no reason." We started walking away from them when they tried to stop us.

"Hey, we were talking to her."

"Is that what you call it nowadays?" He responded, looking over his shoulder with a sinister grin.

The big guy grabbed him and was about to punch him when we heard a whistle blow.

"You two, go back to your classes! Kamachi, Amane, get on the field." Sensei ordered. We split up, but I didn't notice that guy, Amane and I were holding hands.

"So, do they have a beef with you or something?" He asked as I released my hand from his grip.

"Umm, thanks for that, but, umm... I need to go." I said catching up with the rest of the class.

"Alright class, today we're playing soccer. Remember those pieces of paper I gave you? Open them. On them is a color and that'll tell you what team you're on." We all looked at our slips of paper. I got red. "However, one of you has orange and one of you has purple. That means you're a goalie. Orange is goalie for red and purple for blue." After thinking about it, it made sense.

Everyone flocked for the buckets after sensei gave the signal. There was a guy handing out the blue shirts, and a pink haired girl handing out the reds. I hadn't realized until now that Tsukinowa was in my gym class. I handed her my slip of paper and she handed me the shirt, but she didn't let go.

"Come see me after class." She said. I gave a nervous nod, and she let go of the shirt; I ran off to join the red team.

"Hey, looks like we'll be playing together!" I turned around and saw _him_. "So, what's your name? I think I should at least know the name of the one I saved."

"My names Ririn Kamachi and you didn't 'save' anyone. I could've handled that myself."

He nodded. "Ririn, huh? That's a cute name. My name is Kaien Amane. I saw you talking to Yuki Hoshikumo earlier. She's my cousin and I hope you two can be friends. So, how about I take you out sometime?"

I felt my face blush a little bit.

"Is that a yes?"

I shook my head "N-no, it's not. I'm sorry, but, I won't be going out with anyone for a long time."

He took my hand. "Then, how about I walk you home then? I'll make it worth your time."

"No. I don't want to go anywhere with you." I said, releasing my hand from his. "I never should've accepted your help. Now you think I owe you something."

He laughed. "No, you don't owe me anything. I did it out of the kindness of my heart. But it would be great if you'd be nice and let me take you out." He gave me this sad puppy-dog look.

I could suddenly feel someone burning a hole in the back of my head. I glanced over and saw Hoshikumo's group of girls glaring at me.

_They must be fan girls_ I thought to myself. I turned to him again. "No, but, I bet those girls over there would be happy to-"

He put his finger over my lips. "No. The only girl for me… is you." He interrupted me, taking my hand again and kissing it. I pulled my hand away and ran off to the field with my heart pounding.

When the game was finally over, I was exhausted and my shins and knees hurt. Rather, my whole body hurt. My team lost, and they decided to pass the blame unto me. I decided to ignore their ridicule because their opinions of me don't matter.

I returned the red shirt to the bucket and went to the locker room. All while I was changing, I heard those girls whining.

"She's such a klutz, tripping over her own feet." One voice said.

"Yeah, she's the reason we lost the game. She made Master Kaien look bad." A second voice said.

"But did you see how she was flirting with him? I mean, gross. She needs to back off my cousin. He deserves someone much better, like, Saya Matsumoto." Said Hoshikumo.

"Oh, Yuki, you're making me blush."

"But, it's true." She continued.

"I want my cousin to be happy and with someone I approve of."

"Does this mean you approve of Saya?" There was a silence for a couple seconds.

"Of course!" Hoshikumo and Matsumoto said at once.

"This means," Hoshikumo continued, "We need to get rid of that eye sore, Kamachi."

I had finished getting dressed by now, so I locked my locker and left, passing them. They were quiet when I walked by, but once I was out the door, I heard them continue.

I turned to continue walking when I came close to running right into Tsukinowa. "Just ignore them. All they do is gossip because they're so insecure about themselves." She was standing against the wall reading her manga.

I looked at the cover of the novel and saw that she was reading the third book of the series 'FAKE'. "Come on. Let's go get Haruhi; we'll walk you home." She suggested, turning to walk down the hall.

"You don't have to walk me; I can take care of myself."

"We're walking you home. You have no idea how vicious those fan girls can be. Come on." She told me, not breaking her focus from her book.

I realized I was still standing by the door, so I ran off to catch up to her.

It had only been a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity to get to the destination. When we finally made it to the locker, Inoue had just shut the door.

"Hey! It's nice to know you two get along." I glanced over to Tsukinowa.

"Yeah, I suppose…" I muttered.

"Well, shall we go?" Inoue asked, putting us under each arm. "So, did you tell her yet?" She asked Tsukinowa. I looked over to see Tsukinowa sigh.

"No."

"Well, tell her!"

Tsukinowa removed her glasses and looked at me. "Haruhi is mentally retarded." She said as serious as a doctor telling a family that their child has cancer.

"No, not that, I meant about your powers." She turned her head to me. "I'm not, by the way." She whispered.

I nodded as I got myself out from under her arm. I knew something must be wrong with her, but I highly doubt that was it.

"We'll discuss that later, you know, someplace private." Tsukinowa suggested. "That isn't the kind of thing you just go around talking about with total disregard as to who might be listening."

We continued walking, released from the redhead's embrace.

"Well, this is my house." I pointed out. "I'd invite you in, but if my father found out I had people over, he'd shit a brick."

"Literally?" Inoue asked.

"Yeah, Inoue, he'd literally crap a brick out his ass." I turned to Tsukinowa. "Is she for real?" She nodded. "I see, well, I'll see you tomorrow, I guess." I said as I turned to enter my house.

"Hey, Kamachi," The pink one said. I turned to look at her, "When will your father be home?"

"He won't be back for another month. He's in America on a business trip."

"What about your mom? Where is she?" Inoue asked.

"Uh, well, let's just say I won't be seeing her for a long time."

"What do you mean? Is she on a business trip, too? Who does she work for?"

"Haruhi!" Tsukinowa interrupted. "Shut up. It's none of our business." She turned her attention onto me. "I'm telling you this now: we'll be back." I gave a confused look. "We're going home, but we're coming back later to discuss what happened."

"But, my father-"

"We'll cover for you. This is really important and it can't wait."

"'Kay." I said as they turned to leave.

"Oh, and, call us by our first names. We are friends, after all." I nodded before going into my home.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

By the time I finished my homework, it was about 4:30. I took a nice warm shower and cooked myself some dinner. I put a movie in the DVD player and got myself ready to watch the first InuYasha movie. I've had it since my last birthday and I haven't gotten around to watching it yet. Then it dawned on me; my birthday is Friday. I realized that this would be my first birthday alone.

Every year, my father would take me with him to Tokyo to visit my mom's parents and my mother's grave. I started to tear up, but I remembered my noodles were cooking, so I got up and tended to them.

Dinner was cooked, so I put my food on the coffee table, took a sip of lemonade, and was about to press the play button when I heard knocking at my front door. No, not knocking. Pounding, scratching and… meowing.

I looked out the window and saw a redheaded girl raping my door. From what I could see, she was wearing a black tank top and flaming pajama bottoms with Pikachu slippers.

I looked over and saw Tsukinowa in pink plaid pajama bottoms and a plain white tee shirt with standard pink slippers. She was looking out towards the street. I had totally forgotten they were coming over.

Suddenly, a hand slapped the window, causing me to let out a surprised 'squeak'. Then, Inoue's face came into view. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks were puffed out. She released the air, fogging up my window. Then she drew a little heart. I opened the door to stop the madness.

When it was opened, she was standing with her hands behind her back, looking like a normal person. "Greetings and salutations. We have brought gifts and food and our company. Please let us in, for we are-"

"Inoue, couldn't you knock like a normal person?"

"My name's Haruhi, and yes, I could, I just choose not to."

I shut the door and turned around. "Wow, your house is really nice!" Haruhi exclaimed. "It's way better than mine."

"Any house is better than yours, Haru, you live in a trailer." Ayame pointed out.

Haruhi grabbed at her heart and fell backwards. Out of instinct, I ran to her and caught her. She turned her body and grabbed my shirt. "Why is she so mean to me?" She asked as she started crying into my chest.

I looked at Ayame, who was holding a bag of microwave popcorn. "The kitchen is through that doorway." I pointed.

She nodded and left. When she was out of sight, Haruhi jumped up. "So, where's the TV?" And without waiting for an answer, she spun on a heel and walked into my living room.

I followed her and saw her replacing my InuYasha movie with the one she brought. "I was going to watch-"

"So, you're an anime fan, huh? That's good, because that's what we brought. The Cowboy Bebop Movie, my favorite!" She squealed.

_You're not cute_ I thought to myself.

"Wait, I thought you two were just coming over to discuss things, not turn this into movie night."

"Where's the remote?" She asked as if she didn't hear me.

"It's on the table. Now, answer me."

"What animes do you like? Ayame really likes Bleach, Fake, and Peach Girl. I for one like Cowboy Bebop and Full Metal Panic. Full Metal Alchemist is pretty kick-ass, too."

"Well, I'm a huge fan of Bleach… Whatever, just tell me -"

"A Bleach fan, too, huh? Hey, Ayame!" She yelled. I heard a muffled 'yeah' in reply. "Rin-chan likes Bleach, too!" I heard an unenthusiastic 'great' come from the kitchen followed by the microwave beeping.

"Bowls are in the cabinet above the microwave." I yelled to her. I turned to Haruhi. "And I'm not 'Rin-chan'. My friends call me Ririn, but you call me Kamachi-san."

She tilted her head upward and brought her hand to her chin, as if she were thinking. "I'm confused."

"How does this confuse you? Its basic honorifics; didn't your parents teach you anything?"

She smiled. "Nope. But, I'm confused because you said 'friends call me Ririn, but I call you Kamachi-san.' I'm your friend, so, I should call you Ririn, right?"

I was silent. I haven't actually considered her a friend.

"Popcorn is done." Ayame informed us as she entered the room. "Was Haruhi any trouble?"

I nodded. "Actually, she-"

"Nope, no trouble at all! We're bonding." She interrupted, hugging my head into her enormous breast.

"Let her go before you suffocate her. Don't forget, we need her. She's useless dead."

"Oh, you just want someone who shares your love for Bleach. I get it, don't worry."

"Air"

"Oops." Haruhi said, releasing me. I felt kind of lightheaded.

"You should sit down," Ayame suggested, "anyone who gets a face full of Haruhi like you just did usually gets a nosebleed."

"You're just jealous." Haruhi mocked, turning away, walking to the couch.

"Oh, Pad Thai! It has peanuts, too. Yummy." She said, eating my dinner.

"Hey! Stop eating my food!" She looked up at me with sad eyes, and offered me the rest of my food. "Forget it, I'll make more. Do you want any, Ayame?" She shook her head in reply.

I turned around and walked into the kitchen. I grabbed my last box of noodles, a pot and filled it with water. After putting the pot on the stove, I tried lighting it, but it wouldn't fire up. I tried looking for a match or a lighter, but to no avail. Out of frustration, I let out a loud growl, forgetting there were other people in my house.

Seconds later, Haruhi walked in. "Are you ok?" She asked, lifting up the pot to find no fire. "It won't catch." She pointed out.

I was about to thank her for pointing out the obvious when she touched it and a small flame ignited the stovetop.

"There you go. Need help with anything else, Ririn?" I shook my head and continued cooking as she wandered out.

I went back into the living room after making my dinner and found them sitting on the couch; each of them on either side, leaving space for me in the middle.

"So, what are your powers?" Ayame asked after I sat down.

"Wow, straight to the point with you, huh?" She nodded. "Well, I don't know."

"What do you mean 'I don't know'?" Haruhi demanded. "You used your powers, and we saw it, so you must know."

I shook my head. "That was the first time that's ever happened to me."

"Oh, I see…" Haruhi continued. "So, you need some training." She said with a sinister smile, glancing over at Ayame.

"T-Training?" I was afraid of what would happen after this.

"Don't worry," Ayame assured me, "it's too late to be doing anything. We'll train tomorrow."

"Already?" I sounded like a whiny child, and I'm not proud of that. "I mean, jeeze, it's a little sudden, don't you think?"

Ayame shook her head. "The sooner the better."

After some bickering, and much convincing on their part, I agreed that I'd cooperate and train with them. I guess it wouldn't be such a bad thing getting into shape.

We decided to start the movie, and I ate my dinner while they had popcorn. All throughout the film, Haruhi just kept talking. I had already seen the Cowboy Bebop movie, so she didn't ruin anything for me.

It was getting late by the time the movie was over. I looked over to the wall and saw the clock, which said 9:30.

"Um, it's getting kind of late." I pointed out.

"We'll get going then." Ayame replied.

"Oh, well, it's really dark, and, I guess it wouldn't hurt if you two stayed the night."

Ayame shook her head. "We caused enough trouble, er, Haruhi has."

"Hey!"

"Well, you ate her dinner…"

"No, really, you can stay. I mean, if you're coming back tomorrow, anyway…"

"We'd love to!" Haruhi exclaimed.

"No, we don't want to be any trouble."

"Oh, you're no trouble. She kind of is, but you're not."

"Hey!"

"Just kidding, but, seriously, it's no trouble if you stay."

Before Ayame could say anything, Haruhi covered her mouth. "We'd love to. This gives us plenty of time to get to know each other- to bond, right, Aya?" She nodded and Haruhi let go.

"Now," Haruhi continued. "I think we should update you on things like what our powers are, who else has these powers, and so on and on."

Ayame nodded in agreement. "I'll start. First of all, from the information I have gathered from all the past gifted ones, I have figured out that everyone's abilities are affiliated with one element. I also can conclude that only one element can be in use at one time."

I gave her a strange look. "Okay, for example, if there is someone that has the power to control the earth, there will be nobody else with that ability."

"I think I understand…"

"Okay, um, do you read Fruits Basket?" Haruhi asked.

"Yeah, I love Fruits Basket." She nodded.

"Me too. Well, do you remember when everyone was at the beach and talking about Hiro's unborn sibling, and Hatsuharu said that since all the Zodiac members were born, there wouldn't be another?"

I nodded.

"Well, this has that same rule. Except, we're not possessed by vengeful spirits."

I nodded. "I get it now. So, what are the elements?"

"There's 8," Ayame continued, "and they're fire, wind, earth, water, metal, darkness, spirit, and energy."

"Wait, darkness, spirit and energy aren't elements." I noted.

"I know, but we couldn't come up with a better name." Haruhi admitted. "Besides, that's what they've been referred to as for as long as our books have recorded."

_Books? _I thought to myself. _They have books on this? _

"So, I'm safe in assuming that the possession of these 'gifts' aren't restricted to just one family, right?"

They nodded. "But, what's really interesting," Haruhi continued, "we always end up finding each other."

"That's right." Ayame interjected. "You could've been born on the other side of the world, and we still would've found each other. I guess that means we're like magnets to one another."

"So, um, who else is there?" I asked.

"Well, besides You, Haruhi and I," Ayame began, "there are five more. Haruhi is fire, I'm spirit, and, from what we saw and the use of deductive reasoning, you must be energy. The other five, let's see… Sora is wind, Kori is water, Haruhi's sister is darkness…"

I saw Haruhi's expression fade a little at the mention of her sister.

"…And Hiro, this little boy one town over, is metal."

"But, that's only seven… let's see… I think you missed earth. Who's that?" I asked.

They looked at each other. "We don't know." Haruhi said finally. "Well, actually, we do, but I forget her name. She was a good friend with Hiro's mom."

"Was?" I questioned.

"Yeah, she died five years ago." Haruhi pointed out.

"What happened?" I inquired.

"Well," Ayame continued, "As you know, these gifts bring power, and not everyone decides to use them for good. Well, Kori and Sora teamed up and are the 'bad side', lacking a better name-"

"Mostly because 'The Darkside' was already taken." Haruhi interjected.

"-Sigh- Anyway, the woman who was earth-based, got into a battle with Kori. She didn't survive, but Kori didn't get off unscathed, either."

"Do you know how she was defeated?" I inquired.

"Well, my father is a coroner, and from what he saw, she was frozen on the inside. But, to protect her family, he ended up telling her family that she drowned."

Something popped up in the back of my mind. _My mother dies when I was 10, and my father told me she drowned, too. This is too much of a coincidence. _

I felt my stomach turn and I felt my eyes sting a little from the tears trying to form.

"Oh, it's almost 10." I said to change the subject. "If we're going to train tomorrow, we might as well get to bed now." They agreed. "Oh, but, our guest room is being remodeled, and my father's room is off-limits. All I have is the couch you're sitting on. It folds out into a bed, and can accommodate three people, if you don't mind sharing."

"That's fine." Ayame assured me.

I nodded. "There's a bunch of spare toothbrushes in the cabinet next to the sink in the bathroom on the second floor. You can grab one and get ready while I get the bed all set up."

Haruhi nodded in agreement and they both started heading upstairs.

"Last door on the left!" I shouted behind them.

After making the bed and doing the dishes, I went upstairs and got ready for bed. My new friends had already got into bed. I brushed my teeth and washed my face and got myself to bed. I hadn't gotten around to falling asleep for a while because I couldn't help but think about that woman that they were talking about. My mom died the same way at about the same time.

I found myself fall asleep crying.

I woke up to the sounds of birds chirping. Though my eyes were closed, I could see the sun filtering through my window. I tried to roll over, but I felt something heavy sitting on my pelvis. I opened my eyes and experienced one of the rudest wake-up calls I could ever hope to experience.

"Good morning, sleeping ugly!" My redheaded headache sang.

"Oh my freaking god! Get off me!"

"Good to see you, too" She replied, smiling, sitting on me.

"I said, get off of me!" I yelled, grabbing her shoulders and throwing her to the floor and she grabbed me and I fell on top of her. I found myself sitting on top of her when I heard my door open. I looked up and saw a wide-eyed Ayame. I looked down and realized where my hands were.

"Damn, we were caught!" Haruhi said, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Eew, get away from me." I said quietly, getting up.

"What? No 'It's not what it looks like' speech?" Ayame questioned

I shook my head. "You know better than I do how bazaar she is, and I'm not the kind of person who would willingly get put into a situation like that."

Ayame agreed with me. "Don't worry; she wakes me up like that every time she comes to my house."

I could tell Haruhi was getting bored because she got up with a huge sigh. "Okay, we have things to do!" She said, turning me around and putting her arms under mine, 'carrying' me out the room. Ayame turned around and we followed.

I tried getting out of Haruhi's embrace, but with no success. We went downstairs and out the back door Ayame had opened. The redheaded one took me to the middle of the back yard and dropped me.

"So," Haruhi began. "How did you initiate your powers?"

I thought back to the day of the incident, but I couldn't remember anything special that could've activated it. "I don't remember. Like I said, that was a first for me."

"Well," Ayame continued, "I guess you'll have to learn."

"And how do we do that?" I asked, afraid of what the answer might be.

"The best way of mastering your powers is by being put into life or death situations."

"W-wait. L-life or death?!"

"That's right," Haruhi said, "so, I'll begin. _Come forth, Hell's Archer._" At that, flames shot out of her left hand, forming a big bow. She brought up her arm, pulled back on the 'string' where a flaming arrow formed, and she shot at me.

The arrow narrowly missed me, landing on the ground between my hip and my hand. Seconds later, the arrow disappeared, but the charred hole remained. I looked up to see he pull back for another shot; I got up and ran.

"Can we have a break? I'm getting exhausted!"

Haruhi had been shooting at me for nearly an hour and a half. "Not until we see your shield at least." Haruhi replied.

"Well, can I at least get something to drink?" I narrowly dodged an arrow that was aimed at my face and continued running. I could barely overhear the fire wielding she-devil talking.

"Her reflexes are amazing, but her speed leaves much to be desired. But, I guess it's because we've been at this for a while…"

"No," Ayame replied. "She needs to push her limits."

I stopped in front of the fence to catch my breath. I was so exhausted; I didn't hear the 'twang' of the bow. I looked up and saw the arrow coming right at my head.

_No time to dodge_ I thought to myself.

I brought my arm up and prepared myself for the pain. I expected the arrow to hit me at that second, but instead, I heard a kind of static buzzing. I peeked from behind my arm and saw the arrow being violently torn apart by my shield.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It took Monday the longest time to finally arrive. I got out of bed despite every part of my body screaming in pain.

"Why the hell do I hurt so damn much?" I wondered out lout to nobody in particular.

As I took my shower, I remembered the reason I am in so much pain. Saturday morning consisted of me being in the cross-hairs of Haruhi's target practice. I also did meditation exercises with Ayame and learned how to summon my shield on command, although that still needs lots of work.

Sunday was hand-to-hand combat training with both of the she-devils and I became their personal butler… in my own house! Then, later in the day, I did grueling training on how to control my spiritual energy.

Thanks to that, I can make little energy balls. Mine, right now, are about the size of a small marble, but they hurt like hell if they hit you; the proof is on my leg.

I got out of the shower and blow-dried my hair before re-bandaging my leg and shoulder. I then, although painfully, managed to get my uniform on and leave the house. It took me a while to find a comfortable way to carry my backpack, since mine hangs over one shoulder; it's a messenger bag with a dark purple butterfly on the outside flap. The main color of the bag is light purple, while the trim is also dark purple.

I finally walked outside to find a beautiful day. It wasn't too warm, but it wasn't cold, and the sun was fighting the clouds to come out. It was the kind of day that makes one glad they live within walking distance from school so you could enjoy the walk.

Since I don't like silence, unless it's coming from Haruhi, I decided to listen to my Mp3 player. I popped in my earphones and set the play list on random. The first song to come up was Addicted by Saving Abel.

I love music in English, partially because I'm the only student at my school that speaks English; at least, the only one I know of. Plus, nobody would really guess this, but for some reason, I like dirty songs; songs like Inside of You by Hoobastank, Talk Dirty to Me by Poison, The Bad Touch by The Bloodhound Gang, and the one I'm listening to.

Suddenly, even though my music player was kind of loud, I could hear footsteps coming at me, and they were coming fast. When I could sense the source near me, I took a step to the right and saw someone skid to a stop. He turned to face me and I noticed who it was.

"Good morning, Ririn." It was that guy from yesterday… hmm… I want to say… Kenji.

I gave my good morning greeting and continued walking, hoping he would leave me alone, but, he wouldn't. I put my Mp3 player away because I was positive I wouldn't be able to listen to it much this morning.

"So, since I couldn't walk you home, how about I walk you to school?" He looked me straight in the eye, and I felt myself blush again.

I quickly looked away, hoping he wouldn't notice. "Um, well, we are going in the same direction." I looked in my bag and felt around. "Oh, darn it!" I said with fake emotion. "I left something at home. Looks like I need to turn around. See ya."

"What did you forget?" He inquired.

"Oh, uh, my Mp3 player. There is an important file on there…"

He gave me a look; giving me a feeling he didn't believe me. He walked up to me and grabbed my hand. We started walking toward the school.

"You were just listening to it." He pointed out.

"Oh. I was?" I took another look in my bag. I must've not hidden it well enough. "Oh, that's right…" I was disappointed. I really wanted to be alone this morning, considering how busy I was this weekend, and I'm sure I won't have another chance for solitude for a long time.

"So, you like music?" He asked.

I just noticed we were still holding hands. I released myself from his grip as I replied. "Yeah, I love music."

"What kind of music do you listen to?"

"Oh, you know, a little bit of this and that." He nodded.

There was a kind of awkward silence, so I decided to break it. "Um, what music do _you_ listen to?"

I could see him glance over to me out of the corner of my eye. "Well, I like mostly rock. Most American bands are pretty sweet; ones like Slipknot, Korn, and Hoobastank."

"Really? I never would've pegged you as the type to listen to that stuff."

He shrugged.

"I think those bands are awesome, too." I continued. "My music player is full of them."

He laughed. "Oh, really now? A girl like you likes music like that?"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

He continued laughing.

"I don't see what's so funny. I mean, you listen to the same thing."

"Yeah, but I'm a guy, I'm allowed."

"Oh, I see. Just because I don't have a penis, that makes me less of a person? Like I'm not allowed to like the same things guys do?"

I saw his face turn a light shade of pink.

"Forget it; you're just like everyone else." I sped up my pace to get away from him but he caught up.

"Hey, wait. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to say it like that."

I put my earphones back in and put on Falling Down by Atreyu on full blast. I could faintly hear him talking, but I wasn't paying attention.

I finally made it to school with him still pestering me. I was about a hundred yards from the front of the school when I turned off the music and turned around to face him. "Just shut up! I haven't been listening to you for the last ten minutes; what makes you think that's going to change now?"

I turned around and ran into the school building. I glanced over my shoulder to see him jogging to catch up.

Suddenly, I was pulled to the side. "So," Haruhi began. "Why did you walk to school with Prince Charming?"

"Please, hide me." I said, pulling her and Ayame closer together.

"Hey," A familiar voice said, causing my friends to turn around. "You two are friends with Kamachi-san, right? Did you see where she went?"

They shook their heads. "Even if we did," Haruhi continued. "Why the hell would we tell you?"

"Forget it; I'll see her first period." He said, walking off.

They turned back around. "What was that all about?" The red one inquired. "Oh, I get it. He tried to make a move on you."

I gave her a dirty look.

"So, you think he's cute?"

"What? Kaoru, no. He just creeps me out."

"His names Kaien." Haruhi corrected.

"Oh, right, whatever."

"You aren't good with names, are you?"

"No. Well, I'm good at remembering the names of important people, but it takes a few introductions to get everyone else." Actually, that's not entirely true. I have an excellent memory, but for as long as I can remember, I've always had a hard time remembering the names of those I had a crush on. I'm not sure why I keep forgetting his, though.

"Liar" Haruhi stated.

"Do you agree, Aya?"

She nodded. "We can tell you're lying." Ayame pointed out.

"How so?"

"Well," Ayame continued. "You said you remember the names of important individuals, yet you remembered Haruhi's name right away."

"Hey!" Haruhi exclaimed. "For such a dull girl, you can be cruel!" She stood there and started 'crying'.

Ayame grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me all the way to our first class to get away from the drama queen and the embarrassment of being seen in public with her.

We went upstairs to the third floor, which is the Math and Science floor, and we walked into the Biology lab. There were about ten students already there, including, unfortunately, Kaien, who was sitting in my seat.

I walked in through the doorway when I was stopped by his fan club. From what I could remember, the one with the long black hair is Hoshikumo Yuki, the one with the brown hair held in a long braid is Matsumoto Saya, and, well, I hadn't gotten the name of the short blonde yet.

"I hope you don't get a swelled head just because Kaien-sama is sitting in your seat." Hoshikumo started. "Actually, why _is_ he sitting in your seat?"

I gave a sinister grin. "Just lucky, I guess."

"Let's get one thing straight," Matsumoto said, "He's way out of your league." She said with a grin.

I leaned in and said, "If you want him so freaking bad, you can have him."

They were about to respond, but I pushed my way past them, bumping into Yuki with my shoulder, which screamed in pain. I kept my composure, but barely. Ayame and I walked up to the nuisance that was Kaien.

"That's my seat; get out."

"But, I don't see your name anywhere." Ayame handed me a sheet of paper. I looked at it and saw that it was the seating chart. I showed it to him, pointing out my seat.

"Oh, I see. But, it says that that seat belongs to a Kamachi Ririn. If this was, in fact, your seat, you think it would say 'Goddess of beauty'." Before I could respond, sensei walked in.

"Okay, troublemakers, in your seats. That means you, Amane-san, out of Kamachi-san's seat." He got up.

"This isn't over." He whispered as he walked by. Right as he sat down, the bell rang.

"Okay, today, we're dissecting night crawlers. It seems to me that you, Kamachi-san, and you, Tsukinowa-san are missing your lab partners. With that being the case, you two need to team up." We nodded and Ayame came up and sat next to me. When she sat down, Sensei began the lesson.

By the end of biology, the entire floor stunk like dead worms. Almost everyone had the collars of their shirts over their noses in an attempt to save themselves from the stench. I only have one more class on this floor, so I didn't have to deal with this smell for too long. Hopefully this odor stays on this floor.

"I don't know about you, but I think I'm going to go vegetarian for a long time." Ayame said, laughing slightly.

I giggled a little. She seems like a totally different person. This weekend, she was 'Strict-trainer-bitch-from-hell'. Now, she's more… pleasant.

We walked down the hall to the stairs where she went upstairs and I went down. I had cleared a flight of stairs when I saw Haruhi walking up with a sad expression on her face.

"Haruhi?" She looked up at me and I noticed her eyes were a little puffy like she was crying. "Where were you? I thought you'd be excited for biology today. We did, after all, dissect worms!" I said, trying to cheer her up.

It must've worked because she smiled. "Oh, that's right. Damn it! I chose the wrong day to cut class." She gave a kind of nervous laugh. "Not really. Actually, I was in the principal's office."

"Were you in trouble?" I inquired.

"Huh? O-oh, yeah, I was so busted. They even called my parents in."

My eyes got wide. "Wow, what did you do? Did you get some kind of detention?"

She shook her head. "Um, no. I didn't get anything, oddly enough. Uh, I got to go get my stuff. Could you tell Tamaki-sensei that I'll be a few minutes late?" I agreed and she ran upstairs.

I got into Japanese class seconds before the bell rang.

"I guess I'll mark you as on time." Tamaki-sensei said as I headed toward my seat. "But as for Miss Inoue…"

"Actually," I interrupted. She stared at me over the top of her glasses. "She'll be here in a minute or so; she was in the principal's office."

Sensei nodded. "Go figure. Alright, have a seat, let me take attendance."

Haruhi made it back to class about seven minutes in. Other than the occasional poke in the side or stupid side notes I got from Haruhi, the rest of the class was uneventful.

_Something must be wrong with Haruhi_ I thought to myself. She was missing in Biology, and was kind of quiet in Japanese. 3rd and 4th period are classes we don't share, but from what I heard, she was actually tame, kind of.

5th hour has finally come around, which is World History, and I'm in that class with her as well. I want to see if anything's wrong that I may be able to help her with.

I walked into class and took my seat right next to her.

"Hey, did you miss me?" She asked.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you something." She nodded.

"Are you okay?" She gave me a puzzled look. "I mean, you've been kind of quiet today ever since I saw you after 1st period."

She shook her head. "No, nothings wrong! I'm just running on empty. I forgot breakfast this morning, and I'm _starving_."

I nodded. "Well, we have lunch next hour, so, you won't have to suffer for much longer."

"I know, but knowing lunch is right after this class, that means this hour will take for fucking ever!"

Everyone that was currently in the room looked at her and Amane turned around. "Ladies shouldn't swear."

"Yeah, but Inoue swore, so, it's okay." The guy sitting next to him said with a laugh.

"Dude, back off my friend." I said, absentmindedly.

"I apologize for this idiot's rudeness." Amane said. "Fumi just said it to be funny."

"Well," I continued, "It wasn't funny."

"Rin-chan!" Haruhi said.

"It's no big deal; his insults are so weak anyway."

Amane, Haruhi and Amane's friend, Fumi laughed.

"Ha ha… oh, wait…" Fumi said, just realizing that was an insult aimed toward him.

Things didn't get much better after that. About ten minutes into the class, we finally realized Sensei wasn't there. I saw a girl from the back row get up and leave. I'm guessing she went to the office to see what was going on.

"So then, I was like 'whoa, dude! That's not supposed to feel like that.' Then she said-"

"You know what?" I interrupted. "First of all, why are you telling us about your first time you grabbed some girls boob. Second, just so you know, _that wasn't really a woman_. Third, um, where's Sensei?"

"Well, first of all, you weren't there and you didn't see her, so you can't possibly tell me whether or not that was a girl. And, I don't know where Sensei is. She's probably off doing girl stuff." Fumi guessed.

"Something's got to be up." Amane noted. "She's the one that's constantly pounding into our heads how important punctuality is, so, why would she be this late? She is here today, right? No substitute sensei?"

"No," I said. "I saw her in the hall this morning, so, I don't know."

He stared at me.

"_What?_"

"Nothing," he said with a smirk. "You just look so pretty when you're in thought."

I blushed. "Then, how does she look when she's not thinking?" Haruhi asked.

"S-she, um, well, I guess-" He stumbled.

"Dude, you blew it. Just take that thought you're trying to think right now and just… let it go." Fumi said with a hand movement one makes when letting a butterfly fly off from one's hand. I started to giggle.

Suddenly, a thundering voice interrupted the conversation. "Why is it that nobody came to tell me about your situation sooner?" It was the principal, Morinozuka-sensei. He's a large man with a large suit and a large tie, and a hairpiece that doesn't match his natural color.

"Well? I want an answer."

We were all silent and I started shaking. For some reason I get really nervous when my superiors get mad. I know it's not my fault, but I always feel like it is.

"Well?" He got louder and I flinched.

Suddenly, Fumi stood up. "I'm sorry, man. We should have said something, and we're really sorry it happened, and it won't happen again."

I opened my eyes and looked at him. From my peripheral vision, I could see Amane and Haruhi looking at me with a concerned look.

"I see." Morinozuka-sensei said. He turned around and was about to leave when Fumi decided he had one more thing to say.

"I guess we didn't do anything because we decided that we'd rather just hang out instead of learn."

I swear, I could've cried at his stupidity.

"Excuse me?" The principal turned around with a very angry look on his face. "Hang out? You decided you would rather 'hang out' than do schoolwork?"

Fumi nodded.

_Oh my god. He doesn't realize what he just did_ I thought to myself.

"Well, how about you and your three friends come 'hang out' in detention today after school?"

_Three friends? Oh no, he can't mean…_

"Inoue, Amane, and Kamachi, you three have a detention after school today."

"Why us?" Haruhi demanded.

"Do you want to double it?" Haruhi sat down in a huff. "The rest of you don't have a detention because I know you all aren't stupid enough to associate yourselves with him. But still, since nobody came to tell me, I will be your sensei for this period."

There were some scattered groans. Morinozuka-sensei walked to the front of the class and started, reading Honda-sensei's lesson plan.

I could barely pay much attention during the entire class. I had an unhealthy mix of anger, embarrassment, and sadness. I was so angry at Fumi for getting me in trouble, I was embarrassed because my group and I were yelled at in front of the whole class, and I was sad because I have a freaking detention! This is my second one in the five days since school started. I could feel tears fill my eyes.

Just then, Amane put a note on my desk while Sensei wrote on the board. I unfolded it silently and read it.

_Ririn,_

_I'm sorry Fumi got you in trouble. He's a total moron. I'll see what I can do about getting you and Inoue out of the detention since you two didn't do anything. So, don't worry. I got your back._

_-Kaien_

_P.S. You look beautiful when you cry, but I'd much rather see you smile._

_-Sigh- He ruined it with that one last phrase. He's so troublesome_. I realized I just sounded like Shikamaru from Naruto, but, I couldn't help it.

The bell finally rang and it was time for lunch. Just before me or 'the other three' exited the door, Sensei reminded us, ever so kindly, that we have a detention after school and that we need to report to his office beforehand.

I went to my locker and grabbed my bento box and went straight to the roof. I really don't care if those guys from before were there. I just wanted to get away from everyone and everything.

I opened the box, grabbed my chopsticks and started eating. I was on my third bite when I heard whispering coming from the door.

"I know I saw her come up here." One voice whispered.

"I saw her up here once, but that doesn't really mean she does this all the time." That voice sounded like Haruhi.

"Hey," A third voice said. "Isn't that the corner of her messenger bag?"

I panicked slightly. I didn't know where to run off to. There was a huge vent to my right and the fence was to my left. I had set myself up from the very beginning.

I saw a shoe step into view, so I looked up to see who it was attached to. "Hey, I found her!"

It was Fumi. He motioned for other people to come join us. He came over and sat next to me and two other people turned the corner. It was Haruhi and Amane; they came over and sat in front of Fumi and myself.

"Why are you eating all by yourself, Rin-chan?" Haruhi asked.

"I like eating alone, and don't call me 'Rin-chan'."

She cocked her head to the side like puppies do when they see something funny. "Why?"

"I just don't like the name 'Rin-chan'. It sounds too kiddie."

"No, I mean, why do you like eating by yourself?" She corrected herself.

I sighed out of frustration. "I just do."

"So, Rin-chan," Fumi spoke up, "I'm sorry I got you into trouble last period. Kaien and I tried talking to Morinozuka-sensei after class to leave you girls out of it, but he wouldn't listen."

I nodded. "It's no big deal, and stop calling me Rin-chan." I was starting to get irritated.

"But, it _is_ a big deal." Amane put in. "It goes on your permanent record and colleges look at those. They'll think you're a problem child and they won't accept you. You do want to go to college, right Rin-chan?"

"How many times do I have to tell you to not call me that?! You guys are tap-dancing on my last good nerve!"

"But Rin-chan- Ouch!" I smacked Fumi on the back of the head and got up and grabbed my bento box and my schoolbag and left them.

_These people are such a pain_ I thought to myself, finishing off the bento box.

I threw the container in the trashcan and sighed. "So troublesome..."

"What is? Oh, would it be that ugly mug of yours?" I turned around to find the three girls from that stupid fan club.

"What do you want?" I asked them.

"Oh, I don't know, how about you leave Master Kaien alone?"

"Oh my god- I don't even like him."

_Liar_

"I was just eating on the roof and he found me and decided to eat with me. I didn't ask him to."

"Oh yeah, like Master Kaien would eat with such a disgusting image in front of him." I shook my head and turned to walk away.

"Hey, don't you walk away when someone's talking to you." Hoshikumo whined.

I turned around and walked right up to her. "I would only follow that rule if you were, in fact, a somebody. But, since you're not, I can walk away anytime I want. So, if you like the way your face is configured, you should let me go wherever I want, whenever I want with whoever I want."

There was a short staring contest until she finally spoke. "Oh, please. You can't touch me."

I could tell her voice was slightly shaky. "Oh, I sure can, but I won't. If I even laid a finger on a piece of shit like you, it would take for ever to get it off."

At that, the two girls grabbed my arms and punched me in the side, causing me to double over in pain. Hoshikumo grabbed my braided hair right as the door to the roof opened.

"You! Let our Rin-chan go!"

She stopped for a second. "Um… no!" Then I heard a kind of a 'snip' sound, and they dropped me just before running out the door.

I heard footsteps bolt down the stairs. The footsteps belonged to Fumi and Haruhi. "Take care of the girl!" She ordered just before the door shut.

I heard another set of footsteps run down the stairs. "Are you alright?" It was Amane.

I groaned as he helped me back up. He took my hands in his and got me to my feet. I looked up and saw his face really close to mine. I felt myself blush, so I backed up, tripping on my schoolbag. He caught me before I could meet the floor a second time.

I finally collected myself while he picked up my bag and escorted me to the restrooms. He had an arm around me the entire time because he, and I quote, "didn't want me to fall victim to gravity again."

We made it to the restrooms and he stood outside holding my bag while I cleaned myself up. I went to the sink and rinsed my face off with water and dried my face with one of the paper towels. I looked in the mirror and noticed a lock of hair was shorter than it should be. I turned so I could see my back in the mirror to discover my hair was about three inches below my shoulders, and I started to cry.

(Begin Flashback)

When I was younger, my mother would take me to the park to go play with the neighborhood kids, since I was an only child and had nobody to play with. Mom would sit on the bench talking to the other parents while I played 'Cops and Robbers' with the boys, as opposed to 'House' with the girls.

I never really played with the girls; I hung out with the boys. I wore my hair short all the time and I was a tomboy.

Walking home, mom would hold my hand, smile a sweet comforting smile and ask "Why don't you ever play with the girls, Rin-chan?"

"Cuz boys are cool and girls are troublesome." Was my reply.

She'd laugh. "Alright, whatever, as long as you're having fun."

Mom and I had the same routine every weekend until late November when I was nine. That's when she was taken from my world.

On the day of her funeral, I vowed to grow my hair long and be more feminine. I knew my mom wanted me to be more girly, but she didn't want to force me to be something I'm not and taking away my independence. I knew she wanted this from me, even though she never said it out loud.

(End flashback)

I found myself crying over the sink, sobbing so hard, I could vomit. I heard someone come in, so I looked into the mirror and saw Haruhi standing there. "Fumi and I caught them and dragged them to the principal's office. He told me to give this to you." She said quietly, holding out her hand which contained my missing hair, still keeping its braided form.

I took the hair from her hand and tied the other end with a spare rubber band so the hair wouldn't unravel.

"Let's get you cleaned up; your eyeliner is running."

I returned to the sink and fixed myself. I knew there wasn't much I could do about the puffiness of my eyes, so I just left that alone and left the bathroom with Haruhi. I put the hair in the inside pouch in my schoolbag and relieved Amane of the bag.

"I'm going to walk her to class. We'll see you guys later." We departed and the bell rang.

"You doing okay?"

I nodded.

"You know what?"

I looked up at her.

"When I went to the principal's office and told him what happened, he said you don't have to come to detention today. Isn't that great?"

I shrugged.

"Oh, and I talked to Ayame and told her what happened. She immediately whipped out her cell phone and made a hair appointment for you. She's taking you to her aunt's salon right after school. But, before then, let's do something about this…" She said turning me around to examine the back of my head.

Then, she pulled my hair back and put it up in a messy bun. "There, now you can't even tell." I thanked her as we entered the art room.

"I have to say," Haruhi said as we exited the art room, "that was probably the coolest art class I have ever been in."

"Pervert." I mumbled.

"Oh, come on! She told us to draw a naughty picture, just to get it out of our systems. How could you _not_ have fun?"

I shook my head out of shame. "By the way… what did you draw?"

I suddenly had an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. "I, uh, drew a picture of Temari and Shikamaru from Naruto."

Her eyes lit up. "No way! I drew one of Hinata and Naruto! I didn't know you were a Naruto fan!"

I giggled. "Yeah, I love it. If you were paying attention when you ambushed me Saturday morning, you'd see I have all the graphic novels on my bookshelves."

She gasped. "All of them?"

"All of them. I had to; I collect graphic novels."

"Wow, you're rich."

I shook my head. "It was from my mom's inheritance money. She told me to use it to complete the collection, so, I did."

She gave me an odd look. "Inheritance money?"

My face turned pink from embarrassment. I forgot I hadn't told her about that. "I'll explain some other time. For now, let's just go to our classes."

At that, she went up to Algebra while I went to Gym.

I went down to the locker room to change clothes when I was called in to Itachiin-sensei's office. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm getting into my gym uniform, ma'am." I replied.

"Well, I got a call from Morinozuka-sensei excusing you from gym class today. What happened?" She asked, looking up at me with her huge, shiny brown eyes.

"Oh, I just got hit in the side with something hard. It really hurts, but it's really no big deal."

She nodded. "I see. Well, Matsuri-sensei told me your class is playing soccer, so how about you just sit off in the sidelines and watch?"

I nodded and turned to leave. "I'll let sensei know."

"Actually," she stopped me before I could take one step, "you don't have to. There was a family emergency, so I'm covering his class today."

I nodded and headed to the gymnasium.

Soon after Sensei came up, we all headed outside. Everyone was sorted into teams and got into position while I sat down in the nice soft grass. I just noticed the girls that jumped me weren't in class today. I figured they must've had their parents take them home or something.

The game was going well and the team I was on was doing well at first, until Amane got a soccer ball in the face, causing to have an insane nosebleed. I wanted to laugh, but felt it would be mean to do so, so I kept to myself. Amane sat out for the rest of the game, and to cover for him, Sensei joined the game.

"Sho, Habbig fun?" Amane asked, holding his nose to keep the blood contained.

"I'm doing okay. That looked like it hurt, though."

He nodded. "I've hab worf."

I nodded. I was getting bored, so I got out my sketchbook to start drawing. Since I suck at drawing moving objects, I decided to draw my sideline companion.

"Hey, Amane." He looked at me, and I froze up. "Oh, um, never mind."

He looked at me funny, and then fixated his attention to the game. I situated myself so I was facing the city and decided to draw the skyline.

I reached into my bag to get a darker pencil when I noticed a large figure hovering over me.

"What the heck?" I looked up and saw that it was Amane. His nose was done bleeding and he seems to have wiped his face clean.

"Wow, you're a really good artist." He said with excitement in his voice.

I blushed slightly. "Oh, thanks."

"Are you in art?"

"Oh, yeah, that was last period."

"Do you do it in your free time?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I have a ton of filled sketchbooks at home. It's a hobby."

He nodded.

"My father cleaned out the attic and turned it into my little art studio."

"That's cool. So, wait, you live on Tenth Street, right?"

"Yeah."

"Which house do you live in?"

"I live in the big blue house with the black fence and fountain in the front yard."

His eyes got wide. "Dude, I used to live there when I was little!"

"Oh…wow…" There was another awkward silence…

"So," He continued, "have you guys done anything cool to the house? You know, besides the fountain and the attic?"

I thought about that one for a minute. "Well, my mom did a lot of gardening in the front and back yards. And, we got the kitchen remodeled; got in new countertops and cabinets, but other than that…"

He nodded. "Your mom must like housework."

I nodded. "She even put in a garden box outside my bedroom window. She put in one of those bushes that attract butterflies."

"You like butterflies?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I like them a lot.

I continued with the sketch without saying much else. I hadn't quite finished the sketch when we all had to go back inside.

"Okay class, put the shirts in the bin and get dressed." Sensei ordered. "Kamachi, come here for a second."

I walked over to sensei whose hair was a mess and had strands of it sticking to her slightly sweaty face.

"So, do you think you'll be well enough to participate tomorrow?"

I poked my side and checked my shoulders. They still hurt, but not as much. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'll be set by then."

She nodded. "Good, because otherwise, I'll probably have to go out there again, and me getting my butt whooped by my students is embarrassing."

We both laughed before she dismissed me. While everyone else went in to change, I went into the gymnasium and waited for Ayame, since we're going to her aunt's place to fix my hair.

I hadn't been waiting long when Amane came up from the locker room. He moseyed out the door and wandered over to me. "You look like you're waiting for someone." He pointed out.

"Yeah, I'm waiting for Ayame."

"Oh, her? I see; makes sense. If you're friends with Inoue, you're somehow associated with Tsukinowa."

I nodded. "Oh, and thanks, Amane, for taking care of me when those girls ran off after beating me up."

He shook his head. "It's not a problem. Oh, and, call me Kaien."

I blushed and looked away.

"Hey, what are you doing to Ririn?" I turned around and saw my pink haired friend walking over to us.

"Nothing, we're just talking." He said just before the bell rang.

"Talk to you later, Rin-chan." He bolted out the door before I could get a word in.

"Rin-chan?" Ayame asked.

"Please don't call me that." I pleaded.

"I won't, but, why does he?"

"Because he knows it bothers me." She shook her head.

"This is exactly why I hate men." I laughed as we walked out the doors to go to our lockers and get out of here to get my hair fixed.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

We finally arrived at Sheer Beauty, Salon and Spa in her father's black Lincoln Mercury. We got out of the car and I saw this huge establishment designed to look like a mini-castle from the feudal era.

We walked through the front doors which were massive and had gold trim. When we walked inside, I saw the most gorgeous reception desk ever. The desk itself was made of dark cherry wood and was designed in jade.

I saw the receptionist grab a clipboard and a pen and approach us. "Good afternoon, welcome to Sheer Beauty… Ayame?" She took a closer look at my pink haired friend. "Ayame, what brings you here today?"

"Good afternoon, Sakura. I made an appointment for me and my friend earlier today. I know we're a little early, but you don't seem too busy."

The receptionist, Sakura, nodded. "Oh, that's right." She approached me. "Welcome. My names Tsukinowa Sakura; I'm Ayame's cousin, and I'll be taking care of you today."

"Oh, thank you. My name's Kamachi Ririn; nice to meet you."

She nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you, too. Now, if you ladies will come with me, we'll get started." She turned around and we followed her around the massive desk and through a set of doors labeled 'Locker Room'.

We went in to find a large room with lockers about twice the width of the ones at school and benched bolted to the ground.

"Alright, the robes are on the other side of that wall on the hangers. Whenever you're ready, just push this button," She pointed to a little red button on the wall, "and I'll be right there." She said with a smile and bowed before leaving us to change.

We were walking over to grab a pair of robes when I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

"Hey, Ayame?" I asked. "This place is really expensive looking. I don't know if I can afford a haircut here. And, why am I getting into a robe when we're only here for that?"

"Oh, don't worry; you're not paying for anything." That took me by surprise. "On my last birthday, my aunt got me two gift certificates for a free full body treatment. They expire soon, so I figured I'd use them now."

My jaw dropped. "Wait, f-full body?"

She nodded. "Everything from massages to manicures and pedicures, and hair cuts, we'll even go into the hot springs." I could've fainted right there. "Plus, this won't just be physically cleansing you; it's spiritual, too." I nodded.

We finished getting undressed and putting on the world's softest robes, ever. They were so nice and soft and purple, which made them even greater. Ayame tied her sash and went over to the wall and pushed that button.

Seconds later, Sakura-san appeared in the doorway. "Alright, follow me to get your massages."

"That was the greatest experience of my entire life!" I said as we returned to the car.

"Yes, it was nice, wasn't it?" I nodded enthusiastically.

"They healed placed I didn't even know were damaged. I feel like jell-o." Ayame nodded in agreement..

I almost fell asleep in the car when suddenly, for some reason, Haruhi popped into my head. I turned to Ayame. "Hey, if you had the certificates for a while and they expire soon, why is it that you haven't already used them with Haruhi?"

Ayame thought about it for a moment. "Well, there was this one time when we were younger, Haruhi and I came here and she thought it would be funny to super-heat the hot springs."

"Oh, no, she didn't!" She nodded.

"Yeah, a lot of the gauges broke, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage."

"So, she got kicked out?"

"No, she thought the workers had no sense of humor and decided she didn't want to come ever again." That sounds like something she would do…

For the rest of the car ride, I finished off my homework. It had gotten late and I figured I might as well get a good start on it so I'd have time to eat before going to bed.

"You know," Ayame said, "It is getting kind of late. Why don't you stay over at my house tonight? Tonight's dinner is sweet and sour chicken, and I know you must be hungry."

I nodded. "I am, but, we just spent the entire day at an expensive spa. I don't want to bother anyone by intruding on your dinner."

Ayame laughed slightly. "You won't be intruding since I invited you. And, it was no big deal. And, if you want, you can stay the night."

"But, my uniform…"

"While we were getting pampered, I had the housekeepers clean out uniforms."

I looked back at my skirt, and sure enough, my grass stains from gym were gone. "Well, I guess I could…"

At that, Ayame pulled out her cell phone and called home. "Hey, mom. Yeah. I'm having a friend over tonight. No, not Haruhi. Her names Kamachi Ririn. Uh huh… uh huh…" She turned to me. "Ririn, what's your favorite color? Purple, right?"

I nodded.

"It's purple, mom. Yeah. No, mom, she's not. Fine, I'll ask. H-hold on. Ririn, you're not a lesbian, right?" I shook my head. "No, mom, she's not. Uh huh… right. Okay, I'll see you in a few. Love you too. Bye." She hung up.

"Is your mom a homophobe or something?"

She shook her head. "No, just, don't worry about it.

I managed to finish all my homework right as we pulled up to the driveway. There were a lot of trees, but behind them was a really nice house. It seems to have two floors and is about twice as wide as my house, and hers is white.

"We're home." Mr. Tsukinowa informed us. We got out of the car and walked in through the front doors.

Once inside, we took off our shoes and Ayame lead me upstairs. She stopped in front of a door that had a black poster with a white playboy bunny on it.

"Tsubaki, I'm home, and we have a guest, so, try to be pleasant." There was a loud bang against the door. It sounded like Tsubaki must've thrown a shoe at the door.

We went further down the hall and stopped in front of a light pink door with a lily taped on it. "Yuri, dinners almost ready." I heard a muffled 'yay!' come from behind the door. It sounded like a much younger child.

We came upon another door after that. This one was plain white with nothing on it, except for a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the doorknob. Next to the door was a stack of post-its stuck to the wall with a pen chained up.

Ayame took a sticky and the pen and wrote 'Hina, dinner is almost ready' and stuck it under the door. We turned around and saw a pink door that had a cool blue flower pattern in the top left corner. She opened the door and let me in saying "This is my room."

"I've noticed something about your family." I pointed out.

"What's that?"

"Well, everyone's named after flowers, although, I don't see where Hina fits…"

"It's short for Hinagiku, and, yes, my mother is obsessed with flowers and decided to name us all after her favorite ones. What's also funny is that my mom's first name is Hana."

I laughed a little. "That's odd. Wait, what's your father's name?"

"Hikaru."

I nodded. "Oh, I see. So, anyway, how was your day? We don't have that many classes together besides Biology, Gym and Advanced Geometry…"

She nodded. "It was okay, but for some reason, everywhere I went, I was smelling dead worms."

"Eew."

"You didn't?"

I shook my head.

"So, tell me what happened at lunch. All Haruhi told me was that you got punched and someone cut your hair."

I nodded. "Well, Fumi, Kaien, and Haruhi kept calling me Rin-chan and getting on my nerves, so I left them on the roof."

I told her everything that happened up until my entering the restroom when there was a knock on the bedroom door.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"Yuri!" It was a high pitched little girl's voice. She sounded really young. When she got permission to enter, I found out I was right.

A little girl with blonde pigtails tied off in pink ribbons came running into Ayame's arms. "I'm glad you're home, onee-san!" She squealed as she hugged her sister tight. "Tsubaki onee-san was mean again today!" She whined, but it was cute.

"Was she? Did she do anything bad?"

Yuri nodded. "She went into my room and grabbed Miss Suzy. I tried getting her back, but onee-san locked her door. Then, um, then, she opened the door and, and handed me Miss Suzy, but Miss Suzy didn't have any hair, and there was a hole in her head and fake blood coming out of her neck!"

Ayame's eyes got big. "Oh, no, does that mean Onee-san killed Miss Suzy?"

At that, I saw tears fill the little girl's eyes. "Yeah!" She cried.

"Where is Miss Suzy right now?" Ayame asked the grieving girl.

"Mommy took her and said she'll give her to Daddy so he can get her cleaned up, so we can have a funnel for her tomorrow."

"Oh, there's going to be a funeral tomorrow?" Ayame asked.

"Yeah, I just said that, a funnel." Yuri said, still crying.

"Close enough, okay, well, I have school tomorrow, so, I won't be able to attend. But, I will pay my respects when I get home."

"-Sniff- Promise?"

Ayame held out her pinky. "I promise." Yuri linked her pinky with her sister's, making a pinky promise.

Then, there was a voice coming from downstairs. "Kids, dinner's ready!" It was their mother.

Yuri jumped down off her sister's lap and ran out the door. I heard a door slam and another set of footsteps joined Yuri in a race downstairs.

"You head down; I'll be there in a minute." My pink haired friend said.

I nodded and moseyed on down. I noticed Yuri left her door open and I saw the coolest, and pinkest, princess veiled bed surrounded by huge stuffed toy unicorns.

_There should not be that much pink in one place._ I thought to myself as I continued to the dining hall.

I went down the stairs and walked down the hall and went through the doors at the end of the hall only to find the kitchen. There was a woman with long blonde hair putting lids on the trays. She must've noticed me because she spun around.

"Oh, you must be Kamachi-kun. The dining room is through the living room. Want me to show you?"

"Oh, no, you seem busy. I'll find it myself. Oh, do you need help carrying all that out?" I offered.

She shook her head. "No, it's alright; I got it, but thanks for offering. Go grab yourself a seat."

I bowed as I turned and left. I came to the doorway to the living room at the same time Ayame reached the bottom of the stairs.

"It's this way." I followed her through the large living room which had three large couches and a very large flat screen television.

We entered the dining room and everyone had already been seated. Their father was at on end, a girl with long black hair, heavy eye makeup and purple nail polish was sitting between her father and an empty seat. The other end of the table was empty as well. Next to it was Yuri, then Ayame's seat, then mine.

"Have a seat; dinner will be brought out shortly." Mr. Tsukinowa announced, getting up and going to the kitchen.

Shortly after he walked through the doors, a tall girl with white hair tied in a messy bun and wearing glasses came in and sat down next to the dark girl, who I'm assuming is Tsubaki.

"Hi, Hina-oneechan!" Yuri said in a cute little voice with a cute little smile.

"Hi... Yuri." She replied very quietly. She then looked at me and had a slight expression of surprise. "We have... a guest?" She inquired.

"Yes," Ayame replied, "she's my friend from school." Hina nodded and looked away.

"Oh, by the way, Ririn," Ayame said after a brief awkward silence. "Let me introduce you to my family."

"Tsch, you call this a family?" The dark one replied.

"Starting with that little ray of fucking sunshine, that's Tsubaki." I tried to hold in a laugh, and succeeded, but just barely. "Next to her is our eldest sister, Hinagiku, but we call her Hina for short."

She looked at me and gave me a faint smile.

"And this little terror next to me is Yuri."

"I'm not a terror, Tsubaki is." Yuri replied.

"Shut your face, Yuri, or I'll go all World War Two on your unicorns."

Yuri had a cute expression of confusion spread across her face. "What does that mean?"

"It means I'm going to tear them apart and burn them and do grotesque little experiments on their corpses."

"No!" Yuri screeched before beginning to cry in her seat. "You're… mean…Tsu_baka_!" She managed to say between sobs.

"What the hell did you just call me?"

"Tsubaki," Hina interjected in a strong, demanding voice, "just shut up and leave her alone. Why can't you be a better person for once?"

Tsubaki slammed her hands on the table, stood up and stormed upstairs right before the kitchen doors opened.

"Not again…" Mrs. Tsukinowa said, cringing when she heard the door upstairs slam. "Well, dinner is ready." She said, bringing out our plated, followed by her husband who did the same.

The plates were distributed, everyone was seated and everyone just dug in. I examined the plate in front of me and noticed how carefully prepared the food seemed to be. There was even a piece of basil stuck on the side of the plate by the chicken. I grabbed my chopsticks and started eating the most delicious sweet and sour chicken I had ever tasted in all my 15 years of life.


	5. Chapter 5

I can see us holding hands,

_I can see us holding hands,_

_Walkin' on the beach; our toes in the sand._

_I can see us on the countryside_

_Sittin' in the grass layin' side-by-side…_

I'm not 100 sure why, but I had this song stuck in my head all morning and I couldn't stop thinking about Kaien. I never really felt this way about anyone before, and these strong feelings hadn't really surfaced until Ayame pointed them out.

Begin Flashback- Yesterday after dinner.

Dinner was delicious, but the dinner conversation was lacking. Having nothing much else to do, Ayame and I went upstairs.

"So, Ririn, something tells me you're in love." She pointed out.

"…" I couldn't say anything; I'm pretty sure I was giving her the 'deer in the headlights' look.

"All during gym class, you and Kaien were getting cozy on the sidelines and flirting after class."

"We weren't 'getting cozy'. We were bored sitting there, so we started talking."

"Uh-huh."

"And, after class, we were just waiting for the bell to ring; that's all."

She nodded in response, but I don't think she believed me.

"Ayame, I don't-"

"Yes you do."

"Do not!"

"Yes you do, and I'll prove it."

I sighed, crossed my arms and leaned back against the side of her bed, waiting to hear her evidence.

"Whenever you're in his presence, have you ever felt uneasy, yet at the same time happy to be around him?"

I broke eye contact with her and thought about it; I realized I do feel that way.

"And, I know he's complimented you, so how many times have you blushed at them?"

I continued sitting in silence.

"And do you find yourself thinking about him, if only for a moment?"

"Well, yeah I do, but…"

"And do you ever wonder what it would be like if you two went out together? And, be honest, have you ever wanted to get alone with him in someplace private?"

I felt my stomach do a back flip.

"Told you."

End Flashback

_Tsch… I guess I may have a crush on him, but I'm not in love._

I was brought back to reality by the loud, harsh sound of a ruler smacking my desktop. Sensei didn't say anything to me, but gave me a dirty look as he continued explaining the Pythagorean Theorem. When he was safely on the other side of the classroom, I heard someone whisper to me.

"Ooh, busted."

I turned around and almost bumped my face right against Kaien's. I had forgotten his seat was behind mine.

"Shut up." I quietly demanded.

"I like your new short hair; it makes you look more… sexy."

I felt my face turn pink. "Um… that's, I-I, s-shut up!" I hissed.

"Kamachi!" yelled Sensei, "pay attention. If I have to give you a third warning I'll send you to the office!"

I turned back around and took my pencil in hand and copied what was on the board. It wasn't even a minute when I felt an arm reach over my shoulder and I saw a note drop in front of me. I inconspicuously opened the note and read it.

_Ririn, _

_Sorry, but this can't wait. I meant what I said about your hair. Although, I thought you were sexy even before. I think we have a lot in common and I want to spend lots of time with you. Will you go out with me?_

_Kaien_

Upon reading this, my stomach did a back flip, my heart started racing, and my face turned pink. I wrote him back, pencil slightly shaking from my hand.

_Well, I don't know… I've never really gone on a date before…_

I wanted to keep it short so I wouldn't get caught. I snuck my note under my arm and onto his desk. I nervously eyed Sensei as I did this.

Seconds later, he replied.

_I didn't mean I just wanted to go on a date with you. I meant… would you be my girlfriend._

Again, I blushed.

_Um… I think I would opt for a date first… then we'll see, I guess._

I quickly and quietly folded up the note and passed it back to him the same way I did before.

Again, he replied.

_Alright, that sounds like a plan. What would you want to do? Have dinner? See a movie? Go to the beach? You pick, I'll pay._

I thought about what the perfect first date would consist of, but it was a bit extravagant, so I just wrote something simple.

_Movie sounds good._

I attempted to pass him the note again, but I dropped it and, somehow, Sensei heard the paper hit the floor.

"I will not tolerate passing notes in my classroom!" He said in a loud, stern voice. "Lest of all from you. That's it for you; off to the office!" He pointed to the door and I gathered my things and exited to the sounds of random people laughing at me.

I could tell my face was red with embarrassment. I was also angry because, well, this is pretty much the only time I was ever sent to the office for something bad. I started to get a little panicky as I drew closer to the first floor when I caught sight of Haruhi and Ayame barreling toward me.

"Ririn!" Haruhi cried out. "Thank Kami-sama we found you; there's an emergency!"

"Emergency?"

"Yeah," Ayame added, "it's bad; we need to go _now_!"

At that, Haruhi grabbed my wrist and pulled me away to wherever it is they need me. We sped past classrooms, small groups of students, and all the way down the stairs and out the side door. We continued running down the alley all the way to the city park where there was a giant rock-like creature creating chaos.

"Oh, shit." Haruhi gasped, staring at the huge beast. "It looks bigger than before."

"That's because we saw it from all the way at school." Ayame pointed out.

Suddenly, the Rock man came to us and crashed his monstrous arm down on top of us, but he missed because we dodged it. I would've been crushed had Ayame not grabbed me. I landed on top of her, then helped her up and turned around to see Haruhi shoot a giant flaming arrow at it.

Unfortunately, that caused almost no damage; just a small scorch mark. It continued toward my red-headed friend and she began running. She then spun around and and gave a new attack.

"Inferno Blast!" She yelled as fire came out her palms like a flamethrower. She then held her arms straight out on either side and she began spinning rapidly, creating a mini flaming cyclone. I lost sight of her for a moment, but then the cyclone blasted toward him, knocking the creature down.

He was down for a few seconds, but he got back up. When he was on his knees, he thrust his fists into the ground, causing the ground to erupt from beneath, one piece hitting her directly in the torso. She went flying, but due to Ayame's quick reflexes, she was caught. The rock guy got himself back up and walked toward them.

"Ririn!" Ayame yelled, cradling the unconscious Haruhi in her arms. "She's blacked out and I'm useless; it's up to you!"

This took me by surprise; I didn't know where to begin. I suddenly forgot everything I was taught over the weekend. I was panicking again; I'd much rather be in the principal's office right now.

"Ririn!" Ayame yelled, bringing me back. "You have to! Now go!"

I nodded, then ran in front of them, blocking the monster's path. I closed my eyes and concentrated, bringing forth my shield to protect my friends. I stepped from behind it, then clapped my hands together, then formed a circle with my hands around the base of my neck over my necklace.

"First strike, SnapDragon!" I yelled, and the purple swirls came forth, creating the dragon heads again. I took my aim and shot it at him. It knocked him down, but didn't do much else.

_Crap! _I yelled to myself. _This is bad. I can't do anything either! What can I do?! Fire didn't take him down… my twin dragons did nothing either. All I have right now is my electric shield. Wait… that's it!_

I looked around and saw some twisted metal that used to be monkey bars. I ran toward them and grabbed the biggest piece I could manage.

_I hope this works._ I took aim and charged at him at full speed. As I got closer, I saw a red symbol on the thing's chest over the spot where one's heart would be.

Using my instinct, I ran faster and thrust the metal bar into the symbol. I didn't get too deep, but just deep enough that not one of us three could get it out. The creature beagan to give out a blood-curdling scream and knocked me away.

I landed a few feet in front of Ayame and Haruhi and managed to keep my cool. I got behind the shield and waited for the thing to get closer. It finally got to its feet and staggered toward us. It got to arm's length from us when I finally got a clear shot to the metal pole.

Concentrating all my energy between my hands and my shield, I thrust the shield at him, striking the pole and electrocuting the bastard. He then gave out an even worse noise than before when he fell to the ground.

I fell to my knees out of exhaustion and began to cry; using all that energy at once hurt me. That's when I realized my left leg was broken; I cried harder and cradled my leg to my chest. That's about when Haruhi finally woke up and saw what had happened.

The dust finally settled and the two girls stood up and approached the creature. Haruhi touched the side of it, but pulled her hand away in pain. Suddenly, it began to crack. My friends ran to me, Haruhi flung me over her shoulder and they carried me off. By the time we got to the gate, the rock thing broke to pieces.

I finally relaxed, knowing it wouldn't come back… then I blacked out.


End file.
